KirstenBarta

December 13, 2016

Office 365® from Intermedia – Partner FAQ

Q: Why is Intermedia adding Office 365?

A: Over the last couple of years we have seen the email landscape experience a transformative shift as Office 365 continued to gain traction and increase competitive pressure in the market. Keeping on trends with the market, Intermedia is expanding our one-stop shop by providing Hosted Exchange and Office 365 options to our partners. With the goal to provide more choice to our partners so they can choose whatever works best for their business.

Q: Is Intermedia phasing out Hosted Exchange?

A: Absolutely not. Our strategy in adding Office 365 is to provide additional, unbiased choice to partners—not to force a specific platform. For our partners who prefer to sell Hosted Exchange, the addition of Office 365 won’t bring any changes to the way you do business with Intermedia. You will continue to sell, provision and manage Hosted Exchange in the same way you always have—no change. For partners who would like to sell the Office 365 suite, we now provide the option to do so.

Q: Should I still continue selling Hosted Exchange?

A: Absolutely. You now have the option of selling both Hosted Exchange and Office 365 from Intermedia. This choice allows you to make the best decision for your business and for your customer. Reliability, profitability, branding and preference should all be taken into account when deciding which option is the best fit for each deal.

A: Intermedia’s decision to sell Office 365 is centered around choice—so there is no need to switch unless you choose to do so. Existing customers using Hosted Exchange will experience no change. However, if you have an existing client who wants to switch to Office 365, you can now easily migrate them to Intermedia Office 365.

OFFICE 365 from Intermedia

Q: What is Office 365 from Intermedia?

A: Office 365 from Intermedia is our newest product offering and our approach is differentiated from others in the market today. One of five Office 365 SKUs will be enhanced with one of six Intermedia services to create an integrated solution. These include:

Office 365 backed up with SecuriSync from Intermedia

Office 365 protected with Email Archiving from Intermedia

Office 365 secured with Encrypted Email from Intermedia

Office 365 enhanced with Cloud Voice from Intermedia

Office 365 complemented with Email Continuity from Intermedia

For partners, Intermedia provides a significant advantage with Office 365—the ability to sell add-on services under their own brand and to make money while doing it. We’re offering a unique way to differentiate, retain customer ownership and receive the support, resources and white-glove onboarding they’ve to come to rely on from Intermedia.

Q: Which Office 365 plans are available?

A: Business Essentials, Business Premium, Exchange Online, E1 and E3 are currently available.

Q: What services can I add to Office 365?

A: Currently, you can add SecuriSync, Email Archiving, Encrypted Email and Cloud Voice to Office 365. Email Continuity and Outlook Backup will be added very shortly in the coming weeks. Each one of these services enhances Office 365 with critical backup, continuity, compliance and communication features. Below is a summary of how each add-on service enhances Office 365:

Encrypted Email – Protect all outbound Office 365 emails with flexible and customizable policies to help comply with industry regulations

Outlook Backup – Back up all Office 365 mailbox data, including emails, calendar, and contacts

Q: Do I have to sell Office 365 as part of a bundle? What if I want to sell it standalone?

A: Intermedia designed these bundles specifically to help our partners differentiate their solution, increase overall value to their customers and help increase margins. Due to these reasons, we will not be selling Office 365 standalone.

Q: Why should I sell Office 365 from Intermedia?

A: Office 365 from Intermedia provides partners with an easy way to sell, support and differentiate Office 365. Easily pair Intermedia services with a full range of Office 365 plans and get all the benefits of Intermedia’s award-winning partner program:

Award winning 24/7 technical support

Full ownership of branding, billing, pricing and every element of your customer relationships

Access to brandable collateral, sales tool and marketing programs to help you generate leads

Migration and onboarding included at no additional charge

Q: Will I now need to deal with Microsoft for onboarding and support?

A: Office 365 from Intermedia includes expert onboarding and migration as well as our Award-winning 24/7 technical support, as certified externally by TSIA and J.D. Power. You can call us with any question or issue you may have, with no need to consult Microsoft’s online forums.

Q: Will I manage Office 365 from the Control Panel?

A: Licenses, managing add-ons, and billing will be handled in the Control Panel. Assigning licenses to users and managing Office 365 settings will be handled in the Office 365 portal.

Q: When will Office 365 be ready to sell?

A: You can begin selling Office 365 now! All Office 365 offers are available in the price book and quoting tool in Intermedia’s partner portal. Sales enablement tools including collateral and resources can be found in the Partner Sales Portal.

Q: Who do I contact if have additional questions?

A: Please contact your Partner Development Representative and they will answer any additional questions.